Four friends go on a hiking holiday in Sweden following the tragic death of a friend and when one of them twists their ankle a decision is made to take a short cut through a forest. Will they live to regret the decision?

The Ritual is a solid dependable horror film that does enough right to make it very much worth your time. As far as set up and execution goes it’s by the book. When Robert (Paul Reid) dies as a result of an assault, his remaining friends decide to go on the hiking trip he dreamed of. Luke (Rafe Spall) feels responsible for his friend’s death, Dom (Sam Troughton) secretly blames him too, whilst Phil (Arsher Ali) and Hutch (Robert James-Collier) try to keep the group together. Once they enter the forest strange things start to happen, the sort of things you would see in the Blair Witch; spooky huts, arcane symbols and an uncanny knack of not being able to find an exit.

What raises it above standard horror is the relationships between the group and Rafe Spall’s brooding damaged Luke. The group of guys behave like a close-knit group of friends in a very believable manner, whilst Luke’s ongoing pain as a result of his culpability in Robert’s death give some possibilities that what is going on is beyond the literal.